By Ken Goldstein, Visiting Instructor of Business Law and Insurance, Barney School of Business, University of Hartford It’s tax season, the busiest time of the year. You’ve been diligently focused on servicing clients, giving sage...

Individuals are stealing at an alarming rate, and the subsequent losses range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Over the past 10 years, the frequency of employee fraud has reached epidemic levels, yet only a fraction of these cases ever become public. Most are quietly resolved – for many reasons, but primarily to avoid negative publicity.

As with many fraud schemes perpetrated against accounting professionals, social engineering has obtained a greater level of sophistication. This development has arisen in response to increased awareness and vigilance of such schemes. Recent variations of the schemes have emerged to create a stronger appearance of legitimacy.